Shining Star

When Cody Rhodes transformed into Stardust last summer I thought it was a massive step backwards. It was a knock-off of the near enough two decade old Goldust character and a gimmick it was impossible to envisage WWE taking seriously. In other words it was exactly the sort of thing that was going to keep Cody tethered to the mid-card. He wasn't exactly on the cusp of main events before the change but he was even further away after it.

Cody made the best of a bad situation. Which is hardly surprising as the Stardust character was apparently his idea to begin with. He changed up his entrance and in-ring mannerisms, going out of his way to try and establish Stardust as a distinct entity. Even more impressively he switched up his move set, something WWE performers are generally not encouraged to do. These changes helped to establish Stardust and make the change easier to accept.

What a good-looking man.

It's only recently that the Stardust character has begun paying off for Rhodes and the writing team. It's been revealed that the change was part of a long term plan to play into the split of the Rhodes-cum-Dust brothers tandem. Stardust announced at Fast Lane that Cody is "dead", killed by his deadweight brother and unsupportive father. In a nice touch he referenced various stages of his career (being 'The Prince' and 'The Dashing One', being an Intercontinental champ, and being touted as the breakout star of The Legacy) and his former status as a hot prospect within WWE. As character development goes it was certainly attention grabbing.

Since the two (half) brothers officially split on the February 16 RAW further tweaks have been made to the Stardust character. He's been shown to be violent and unstable both in matches and backstage segments and moved from wearing a Goldust-esque bodysuit to full length tights (possibly because he wants to have those abs of his on display).

It seems likely that another Goldust versus Stardust is where this is all heading, although Stardust's recent interest in the Intercontinental title means it's unlikely to happen at WrestleMania. How that will play out is anybody's guess. The rumours that Goldy is ready to retire are as widespread as they've ever been so it seems reasonable to assume we'll see Goldust versus Stardust with a retirement stipulation for the former on the line. Given Stardust's recent sentiments we could see him challenge Goldust to face him with this stip and Goldust, wanting his brother back, agreeing on the proviso that if he can win the match the Stardust gimmick gets dropped.

That scenario would almost certainly play out with Goldust losing. It could be used to launch a big singles push for the Stardust character, unrepentant at having fractured his family and caused the retirement of his brother. Played right it could get him over big as a heel. Alternatively Stardust could win the match and, following a moment of clarity brought on by seeing how dejected 'The Bizarre One' was at the loss, ask for and receive reconciliation. That would allow Goldust to go out in the match he's apparently wanted for years and lead back to the reintroduction of the babyface Cody Rhodes character.

Knowing WWE we'll get a watered down version of one of these options. The Stardust saga so far has already been a departure from the writing team's usual unwillingness to commit to anything original, interesting, or forward thinking. It's too much to expect the story to reach its conclusion without the usual WWE disappointment seeping in.

31 Possibilities

WrestleMania 31’s beginning to take shape. Roman Reigns has won the Royal Rumble and seems likely to retain his number one contender status against Daniel Bryan at Fast Lane. Doing so will see him go on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE title. Lesnar isn’t currently scheduled to defend his title at Fast Lane, making his defence at ‘Mania all but a certainty.

Sting will wrestle at 'Mania. Unfortunately.

Triple H is intent on calling out Sting at Fast Lane, which will presumably lead to a match on March 29. Rollins seems destined to have a grudge match with Orton. The first ever Cena v Rusev meet has been moved forward to Fast Lane but in all likelihood they’ll end up wrestling again at WrestleMania, because it’s such a WrestleMania match. And ‘The People’s’ Elixir’¹ Daniel Bryan has been talking to Dolph Ziggler on Twitter, for all the world to see, about having a match together on ‘The Grandest Stage of Them All’.

But what if all of these threads are red herrings? I mean, they’re probably not because it’s shaping up to be the sort of card WWE likes to produce for ‘Mania. But none of it is definite yet. Not even Reigns v Lesnar, until Reigns gets past Bryan.

There’s still time for WWE to swing onto a very different path.

We’ve seen Paul Heyman offer Lesnar to The Authority as a problem solver. What if ‘The King of Kings’ has no intention of wrestling Sting himself and instead plans to challenge him to step in the ring with Lesnar? That could mean two matches for the usually light scheduled ‘Beast’. But he could also lose the title in an as yet unbooked defence at Fast Lane or in an altercation on RAW to a Money in the Bank wielding Seth Rollins.

That would see Rollins going into WrestleMania as the champion. Reigns would be the obvious candidate to face him. But maybe all the promos and the heavy-handed pushing and Triple H’s talk on Austin’s podcast were all intended to lead us in the wrong direction. Maybe Daniel Bryan will wrest the title shot away from Reigns, giving us D-Bry versus Rollins for the WWE championship in the WrestleMania main event. The return of the mighty Orton could wait until ‘Mania itself, or the night after.

Bryan versus Rollins at WM31? It'd be good but it's not likely.

This would leave Rumble winner and perceived golden boy Reigns out in the cold. What if his increasingly heelish mannerisms have actually been the lead-up to a full blown turn? He could attack Dolph Ziggler, the guy currently rumoured to be Bryan’s WM31 opponent, in frustration.

This chain of events would give us Reigns v Ziggler, Lesnar v Sting, and Rollins v Bryan for the championship. This is all massively unlikely. In places it’s unappealing. But it’s not impossible. WWE could surprise us with some or all of this. While I don’t necessarily want them to it is nice that there are alternate paths that they could take. It’s nice to have some unpredictable wrestling television from them.

But I'd draw the line at changes occurring that prevent us getting Miz versus Mizdow on the pre-show. That's the one match that really has to happen.

***

¹ That's not just a Frasier reference, it's an apt Frasier reference. I think 'The People's Elixir' is an amusing a relevant nickname for Bryan. I'll be using it from now on.

Cena Versus Rusev

We found out on the studio-bound post-Royal Rumble episode of RAW that Fast Lane will feature the first ever (televised) match between John Cena and Rusev. It was unexpected. Despite the two men having a bit of a shout at one another the previous evening on the Rumble fallout show nobody had expected their match to occur until WrestleMania 31. Because a man with a year-long unpinned and unsubmitted streak seemed like the perfect person to throw up against the mighty Cena at the biggest WWE event of the year.

The decision to bring the match forward to Fast Lane is probably designed to make that show seem more worthwhile, encouraging Network subscriptions and pay-per-view purchases. To a lesser extent it might be about making the first edition of what is likely to become an annual event memorable. And it should work. Cena v Rusev is a WrestleMania-level match, a big addition to a B level card.

Fast Lane's a definite for Rusev and Cena. I'll think they'll go to 'Mania too.

But just because it’s worthy of WrestleMania doesn’t necessarily mean it will be good. Cena is capable of great matches but they usually come opposite smaller, quicker men with a varied set of moves. Rusev is bulkier than Cena and only has a handful of notable moves to him. He’s shown himself to be able to turn out very good matches but, like Cena, he does his best work opposite smaller guys. Basically neither man is an ideal foe for the other.

On the plus side ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ has shown an above average ability to sell and he’s improved a great deal over the last year. The first point should ensure that there’s some drama when Cena’s on offence. The second means there’s hope that Rusev will rise to the occasion and enter his strongest performance yet because this match is where it counts.

Sadly match quality is likely to take a further hit with the finish. It seems unlikely that a match would be moved forward from WrestleMania (Michael Cole openly stated that it had been planned for the bigger show) and have it end cleanly with very few alternative matches for either man at ‘Mania. So a less-than-clean ending seems likely.

Reigns, Lesnar, Triple H, Sting, Rollins and Orton all look to be tied up. In theory Cena and Rusev could work with Bryan or Ziggler but in practice it’s unlikely. Cena v Ziggler would be too far a fall for Cena, although that would free up Rusev for a match with D-Bry. A win over Bryan at WM31 could really bolster Rusev’s standing as a heel juggernaut. Swapping opponents, Rusev v Ziggler has happened several times before and would therefore not feel like anything special. Bryan and Cena’s second pay-per-view match would be a big deal, but it’s tough to see how they’d be positioned opposite one another without a championship involved and with them both being good guys.

A second Rusev v Cena encounter looks likely for WrestleMania. There are a few ways they could get to it and only one of them is appealing. The one good way would be to have Rusev defeat Cena completely fairly at Fast Lane. Cena, unable to make excuses, would have to come out and acknowledge that the best man won before pushing for a rematch, arguing that he has something to prove to himself and the world. But we’re likelier to see a double count, disqualification or perhaps even the referee throwing the match out for general over feistiness. That would also create reason for a rematch but it would do so in less dramatic fashion.

Cena losing would be the best thing for Rusev in the long run. Even if he ended up losing a rematch he’d still have that win over Cena and he’d still be able to say he defeated Cena before Cena defeated him. Rusev could take a first loss at WrestleMania and bounce back from it if it was handled correctly and he was booked to seek, and gain, revenge on Cena in a deciding match at Extreme Rules. They could make it a gimmick match to avoid Cena having to take another clean loss. A last man standing match maybe. He’s good at those.

Of course, the ultimate scenario would be for Rusev to defeat Cena at Fast Lane, accept a rematch at WrestleMania, and then beat him again. Two back-to-back pay-per-view wins over Cena would make Rusev look unstoppable to a savvy modern audience. In turn that would make him the ideal initial challenger to newly crowned world champion Roman Reigns. And being the first man to pin Rusev, after Cena’s failed twice, would keep Reigns looking very strong indeed. That’s worth bearing in mind.

Marital Troubles

One of the few consistent stories WWE’s told over the last few months has been the one concerning the marital problems of Tyson Kidd and Natalya. It’s been a prominent part of Total Divas and has been a regular, if minor, aspect of the pair’s appearances both on the main roster TV shows and NXT. All the signs indicate that it’s not something that’s going to come to much outside of Total Divas, which is a waste because WWE could do something memorable with it if they wanted to.

It’s been pretty well established that part of the problem is Tyson having a problem with Natalya getting the spotlight when he doesn’t. There have been times where he’s posed in front of her after she’s gotten a victory and he’s frequently not bothered going to ringside for her matches, while she accompanies him for all of his (unless a storyline reason prevents her from doing so). There’s also been the more highlighted stuff with Tyson being “overly friendly” with Nikki Bella when she’s been competing against his wife.

Note Tyson's complete lack of interest.

So how about building towards Natalya versus Tyson Kidd at WrestleMania 31? Have Kidd continue to upstage Nattie on RAW and SmackDown across the next week of TV, and refuse to accompany her to the ring for matches she considers important. Nattie could win a number on contenders match on an episode of SmackDown, earning her a shot at the winner of the Nikki Bella versus Paige Fast Lane match on an episode of RAW. Her celebrating could be interrupted by Tyson strolling to ringside and batting her out of the way to stand on a turnbuckle. Because he’s totes a megastar.

Natalya could shrug that mistreatment off as she shrugs all his mistreatment off, and then convince Tyson that she really, really wants him there at ringside to see her become the Divas champ at against Nikki or Paige. He’d reluctantly agree (it’s not like he’s on RAW much anyway) and be at ringside for the match. This being wrestling he’d end up accidentally costing her the match in some way and then storm backstage when she dares to blame him for her loss.

This would end up being a turning point for Natalya, the moment that makes her realise that her husband doesn’t respect her or her career. The following week’s RAW could see her announce she’s made a decision about her marriage, setting up the reveal for the following week and giving people a reason to tune in. Naturally the commentary crew could play up that she’s going to ask Tyson for a divorce, because that’s the on the nose approach favoured by WWE.

But instead the next week’s show would arrive and Natalya would get an in-ring promo segment challenging Tyson to a match at WrestleMania. He’d laugh it off before being convinced (through a slap or the threat of separation or some other Grand Gesture™) that Natalya’s serious. Maybe he could say no and then spend weeks being convinced that Nattie will go through with her threat of divorce, or maybe he could simply say yes to begin with.

Either way it would need to be clear that the match isn’t about spousal abuse (because that’s distinctly un-PG and, more to the point, not something I think pro wrestling is well-equipped to tackle) but rather about respect and gender equality (the former of which is firmly in pro wrestling’s ball park and the latter of which really should be). Natalya would want to prove she’s just as good a wrestler as any of the guys and that Tyson should respect her. Tyson wouldn’t necessarily have to transform into a raging sexist for the story to work, he could simply remain the inattentive husband who believes Natalya supporting his endeavours is of greater import than him supporting hers.

Natalya would need to win the match, of course. A mid-card husband versus wife story of this nature needs to win with the wife vindicated otherwise it sends a very poor message. Ideally she’d go over with the Sharpshooter before they reconcile with a hug. I think Natalya and Tyson could have a good match if they had more than five minutes, and it would be nice for them to get a genuinely memorable, meaningful WrestleMania Moment.

SmackTalk 29.01.15

When snowstorms stopped WWE from promoting a live post-Royal Rumble RAW they compromised, relocating to WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut to put on a show based around interview segments. It was a smart move to make and they put on a very good show considering the severe limitations placed on them. But wrestling is about, well, wrestling, and as much as I suspect they enjoyed producing a three hour show with no in-ring content WWE needed to get back into an arena at some point. They decided to reschedule their trip to the XL Center in Hartford from Monday to Thursday, promoting a live edition of SmackDown in its new timeslot.

Michael Cole, Byron Saxton and Jerry 'The King' Lawler welcomed us to the show, immediately hyping Reigns v Big Show and Bryan v Kane in a casket match. They referred to it as the final battle in their long feud. It’s worth noting at this point that the Bryan and Kane problems date back to the spring of 2012. They’ve feuded, on and off, for nearly three years. Time will tell whether this really will be the end but I'm not expecting it to be true.

Triple H got things going with a promo. Because WWE is incapable of starting live TV shows without an in-ring promo. He welcomed the crowd to Monday Night RAW (what a joker, eh?) before putting over WWE being great for working around not being allowed to do RAW on Monday and finally hitting their Network subscribers goal. After some jokes about balls (related to some sort of NFL controversy I'm not aware of because I’m not American) he said he will resolve the problem that is Sting at Fast Lane.

Then he talked about the controversy of the Royal Rumble. Apparently Reigns winning is considered controversial. I don't understand why it's controversial that a man won a match completely legally. 'The Game' said he'd end the controversy on Monday's RAW. Presumably this will take the form of a match announcement for Fast Lane.

Roman Reigns smouldering.

Before Tripper could leave he was joined by Reigns, who agreed with my feeling that his Rumble win was not a controversial situation. He was booed. Big Show was brought out for their scheduled match and Trips ambled backstage. The match would have been enjoyable had Reigns steamed through Show in minutes, a dynamic performance to demonstrate that he's above proven losers like Show.

But that didn't happen. What we got was a twelve and a half minute match that saw Reigns being worked over and failing to look like a powerhouse. At one point he did a performed a headscissors takedown, the exact opposite of the sort of moves he should be doing. He was also heavily booed throughout the match. WWE should have realised less is more and limited Reigns' camera time. He did at least win though, kicking out of a choke slam to hit two Superman punches, on a 'Giant' who had stupidly clambered up to the top rope, and a spear. Yep, it took three finishers to put Show down.

After a reminder that Schwarzenegger is going into the Hall of Fame Seth Rollins wandered out for a bit of a chat. His entrance got more cheers than Reigns' did. He put over his performance at the Rumble, how he’d come one second away from winning the title, and how he’s broken Lesnar's rib. He issued an open challenge, waited for approximately one second, and then started bragging that nobody wanted to face him.

Ryback not ruling.

Ryback's music hit and he came out to prove Rollins wrong. J&J Security and Rollins jumped Ryback. ‘Eerie’ Erick Rowan made the save. Rollins knocked him off the apron and went back to stomping 'The Big Guy'. Ziggler came out to round things out. The heels managed to fight their way out of the ring and ran backstage. I expected this to lead to a match later in the show. It didn’t.

We were next shown a topless Kane caressing a casket in a dimly lit room somewhere in the building. He talked about ending Daniel Bryan. It was distinctly un-PG.

Match number two was the very promising Tyson Kidd v Jey Uso. Sadly they got less than three minutes, nowhere near long enough for the competitive match they could have produced. Kidd worked the leg and got the win after drop kicking the knee and hitting a fisherman’s neck breaker. This match should have had its time swapped with Reigns and Show. That would have resulted in a far more enjoyable match and Reigns looking like a juggernaut for trouncing Show.

Another shot of Kane was shown with the casket. This time he didn't say anything. He just gazed into the casket. Maybe he was thinking about Katie Vick?

Rusev and Lana rocked up for a promo as the first hour drew to a close. Speaking English, Rusev said he should have won the Rumble. Even though he was thrown out easily and Reigns never got put over the top rope. Weak argument, bro. He said he deserved Lesnar but he was being given a man with no titles, hunger or desire, a man from the past, John Cena.

Naturally these words brought Cena out to the ring. Cena half-heartedly put over Rusev's accomplishments then vigorously talked himself up before challenging Rusev to fight him then and there. Rusev was up for it. Lana told him not to waste his time. He listened to her and they left the ring. The crowd booed. Cena made a gag about Lana being a ho and said he'd defeat Rusev at Fast Lane. But he would say that wouldn't he.

I'm not liking Rusev's chances.

There’s time to make the Rusev v Cena feud great but their early interactions haven’t filled me with confidence. Cena doesn’t seem to want to treat Rusev seriously. If he doesn’t then he’ll undo a year of good work building Rusev up as a credible upper mid-card heel and tank his chances of progressing further. The progression would help the company as a whole but create competition for Cena. It’s worth remembering that.

Paige spoke to Renee Young about her Divas championship match at Fast Lane. She was immediately interrupted by the Bellas. They made comments about Paige's skin tone, comparing her to snow and vampires. Paige laughed then elbowed Brie. The Bellas ended the segment on top, Nikki posing with her belt like she was in the ring.

The Ascension had a picture in picture promo as they headed to the ring for their match against Goldust and Stardust. Konnor called the New Age Outlaws D-geriatrics (because they were in D-Generation X, geddit?) and Viktor called Goldust "Oldust". Great stuff. The writing team really earned their money with this stellar material. It was a standard issue tag match. Stardust was pinned with The Fall of Man after tagging himself in against Goldust's better judgement.

Kane was again shown with the casket. Smoke had appeared in the room since he was last shown. He laughed (maybe because of the smoke?) then slammed the casket shut.

It wasn’t main event time quite yet. A backstage promoting a Syfy show about magic had to take place first. Alicia Fox, Zack Ryder, Summer Rae, and R-Truth were shown marking out over a magician from said Syfy magic show. He took a bite out of an Oreo cookie appear (product placement much?) and then made a whole one appear. Everyone was amazed by this.

Miz and Mizdow showed up. The magician lad said he'd always wanted to do a "trick" (ermmmmmm... real magicians call them illusions) with an A-lister. Miz fawned before the guy revealed he was talking about Mizdow, who broke character to shake his hand. The guy taught Miz a trick. Mizdow mimed Miz’s hand movements. The magician ended up cracking an egg he'd made appear on Miz's face, to prove it was real. It was as funny as you'd expect. In other words, not at all (except for Mizdow's miming).

In a darkened room Bray Wyatt asked what made people happy. He revealed that he's happy doing things most people aren't. He also mentioned smiles. It was even more pointless than the magic skit.

Budget cuts meant that there were no crew to set up the casket for the casket match. Kane had to  wheel it out and put it in place before Bryan's entrance. Poor old Kane, always getting lumbered with the unglamorous jobs. And, for that matter, the jobs.

They had the best match possible considering the crummy gimmick they were lumbered with and the over familiarity of their pairing together. The final three minutes were very good. Bryan slipped out of a Tombstone piledriver on the apron and hit several charging drop kicks, wobbling 'The Demon' over the coffin before getting thrown to the mat with a choke slam. ‘The Big Red Machine’ rolled Bryan into the casket and leant across him to close the lid. Bryan applied the Yes Lock and worked Kane into the casket and himself onto the apron. He tried closing the thing but Kane fought out and back into the ring where they ran through Tombstone, Yes Lock and choke slam attempts before D-Bry yanked down the top rope and a charging Kane wound up on the apron. A roundhouse kick dizzied him and a running knee sent him sprawling back into the casket, slamming the lid closed to win.

He's beaten Kane on SmackDown but what will he do at WrestleMania?

Bryan stood on the casket celebrating for two minutes before the show ended. It was a long time to celebrate, but for some reason the decision had been made for Michael Cole to yammer away about Triple H’s promise to address the imaginary controversy on RAW as the show closed. Bryan had to hang about because of that. Still, there are worse ways to close a show.

For the most part this SmackDown was decent. I’m concerned about the way WWE are choosing to use Reigns though. Having him win the Rumble is one thing, putting him in lengthy singles matches on TV is another. It doesn’t play to his strengths and it’s going to do nothing to dissipate the hostility towards him. Having him blitz people inside three minutes is the way to go. Something tells me they’re not going to learn that though.

That RAW Recap 26.01.15

For most people extreme snowstorms are life-threatening ordeals. I imagine WWE management felt differently on Monday night. The severe weather that hit the north-eastern United States caused the governor of Connecticut to announce a travel ban, effectively cancelling RAW. That effectively granted WWE a reprieve, something they were much in need of after the hostile evening they’d experienced at Royal Rumble the night before.

They made the most of the opportunity, doing some expert damage control on the standing of Rumble victor Roman Reigns. The show was constructed around five sit-down interview segments and a couple of announcements for Fast Lane. They were interspersed with links from Michael Cole, JBL and Booker T. It was a smart approach that made the most of what the company had at its disposal. If only that were true of their booking approach in general.

Slightly more questionably the decision was also made to air the two biggest matches from the previous night’s Rumble. That means that people tuning into RAW were treated to the triple threat WWE championship match and the Rumble itself for free. Monday saw WWE finally hit their goal of one million subscribers for the WWE Network so I’m sure they’re pleased with the decision to air those matches. The likelihood is that they convinced a number of people that the Network was worth a look. But it wasn’t the greatest idea with regard to customer satisfaction: everyone else had had to pay $9.99 for the event. Or £9.99 if in Britain. Or a staggering $54.99 to watch on regular pay-per-view. I’m sure refund requests have been sailing WWE’s way since Monday night.

The state of your briefcase, mate.

The first of the interviews was with Seth Rollins. He told Michael Cole that he thought his Rumble performance spoke for itself. He felt he deserved to be in match and that he did everything he could to win and become champion. I agree with him. Rollins did deserve to be in the match and he made the most of the opportunity. He took the pinfall but that didn’t matter. ‘The Future’ left the show looking like he belonged at the top.

The interview was brought to a close with Rollins being asked about what would happen in a Lesnar v Rollins singles match. Avoiding a direct answer Rollins admitted that he’d underestimated Lesnar but that Lesnar had also underestimated him and added that he had and has what Lesnar doesn’t: the Money in the Bank briefcase.

When Cole plugged the Lesnar interview that was to follow Rollins declared that he wouldn’t leave, Lesnar would have to kick him off his chair. This bravado turned out to be true when the show returned from a break. Rollins was still sitting on his chair, although he was looking less smug and more wary.  

Lesnar wandered up and, fairly politely, said to Rollins "I believe you're in my seat." Rollins got up, brushed the chair and then knocked it over. Lesnar laughed as Seth walked off and a stagehand appeared to sort out the seating situation. It was a good bit of character development for both wrestlers. Rollins was shown to be the coward who was all mouth until he had to back up his words in a fair fight. Lesnar was the intimidating monster who picks his fights with care.

Paul Heyman was on board for this interview but Lesnar did speak for himself at the start. As usual it was short and sweet. He acknowledged his broken rib but said it didn’t matter: when it comes to match time he makes sure to win.

Heyman was more talkative (obviously). He explained that Lesnar and The Authority have a symbiotic relationship. Lesnar's in WWE because The Authority needs a box office attraction. He’s also useful for taking care of problematic guys like Sting, The Undertaker and John Cena (although he failed to explain why The Authority finds these men so problematic in the first place). While they're paying what Lesnar's worth he's for hire. Mention of negotiations was made, which was pretty clearly included to weave in the thread of Lesnar potentially leaving after WrestleMania.

After a video package reminding us that Brock Lesnar ended The Streak at ‘Mania XXX Cole asked how Lesnar overcame ‘The Dead Man’s’ “psychological warfare”. ‘The Beast’ said he did it the same way he’s done everything else in his life: he didn’t respect Undertaker. Heyman interjected to ask why people were so surprised by the WM30 result or the previous night’s result. Nobody has Lesnar’s credentials and he’s a true once in a lifetime talent.

Cole said he meant no disrespect and brought up Reigns. Lesnar looked bored during the apology but smirked at the mention of Reigns. Being rather blasé, Lesnar said he was happy for Reigns and hoped that he was up to the challenge. Then he threw out a “baby” and called himself a steamroller.

When Cole asked if Reigns could stop his client Heyman said “No.” The interview ended with Cole telling them he’d be interviewing Reigns later in the show and Lesnar saying he’d stick around to meet him. It was a great exchange that would have acted as a great introduction to the Lesnar character. It gave you everything you needed to know: he mentioned his amateur wrestling credentials and his UFC title win and Heyman made him out to be the biggest draw in wrestling. It left you with no doubt that he’s a bad, intimidating dude, albeit one who has inexplicably started calling people “baby”.

Byron Saxton was given the Roman Reigns interview. Reigns talked about his Rumble win being incredible, mentioned his family (who I won’t list here: if you’re interested check out that oracle of the modern age, Wikipedia) and admitted he’s not the most experienced wrestler on the roster but that he’s willing to get thrown in at the deep end and seize opportunities when they come his way. He also stole Cena’s line about how good, honest, hard-working punters are entitled to react however they like at WWE shows. Reigns is happy simply being allowed to perform.

Dishy, no?

When asked if he’d been hand-picked for success by WWE higher ups Reigns didn’t actually refute the suggestion. He simply said if he had been he’d have to thank them and explained that if it were true he’d still need to perform at a high level in order to continue getting opportunities. It seemed like an exchange designed to tease the idea that Reigns may be cool with the idea of getting a bit of preferential treatment.

A few minutes later a replay of the Rumble Fallout show was introduced. I’d highly recommend watching it in its entirety. It’s heavy on Reigns giddily marking out during Rock promos designed to get him over as a badass. But that wasn’t the focus here. What we were shown was Rusev interrupting John Cena’s dejected mutterings about not winning his sixteenth world title. We were told The Authority had “planned” Cena v Rusev for WrestleMania but had brought it forward to Fast Lane, presumably because Cena and Rusev had already put themselves on a collision course. Amusingly JBL ventured the thought that Cena might be the guy to best Rusev as though it would in some way come across as a controversial opinion.

In more Fast Lane news we were informed that Triple H had issued a challenged to Sting to meet him face-to-face at the show. Something tells me that challenge will be accepted.

A shot of Dean Ambrose arriving at HQ was shown. After a break Byron Saxton caught up with him and asked how he got there. Ambrose said he walked from Hartford to Stamford.Then he told a story about hitchhiking his way there. Both stories can’t be true, so what this told us is that Ambrose is a liar. But hey, ‘Lunatic Fringe’! Am I right?!

Ambrose said he’d turned up to prove a point: he's going to make it to WrestleMania. That was literally all the reasoning that was given for a man walking through a blizzard wearing nothing but jeans, a leather jacket and a T-shirt with his own name on it. It was an embarrassing, hard to watch segment. Ambrose is over based on his ability to connect with a crowd. He's a good promo guy but nobody could have turned what he was given here, which was essentially nothing, into something worthwhile. This is what Vince thinks a loose cannon is and it's awful. It could not be more obvious that nobody in WWE understands the Ambrose character or has any idea what to do with him.

Bryan's a Reigns fan. Who knew? Probably not even Bryan until he got the script.

Interview number five saw Renee Young maxing and relaxing with Daniel Bryan, who she described one of the most "newsworthy superstars to come out of last night's Royal Rumble". Just stop and think about that description for a few seconds and you, like me, will realise that it is meaningless. They started out talking about Bryan’s 2014, how elated he was to make it to ‘Mania based on the support of the fans and how difficult it was to find out he’d suffered a potentially career-ending injury. They ended nattering about Bryan’s casket match collision with Kane, which D-Bry vowed to win because he wants to move on from ‘The Big Red Machine’. But it was the stuff that sat in the middle of the interview that was most interesting.

Bryan said he’s disappointed Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble. Not because it was Reigns but because it wasn't him. He outlined the David v Goliath scenario that could have been his match with Brock Lesnar but said that the loss was ultimately his failure. It's on him. Reigns took the opportunity of being in the Rumble and used it to win. He did, however, mention that he didn't have The Rock helping him or WWE feeding him when he was a kid. Bryan’s final Reigns related comments were that he has no doubt that Reigns can make the same sacrifices as himself and Ziggler and Ambrose and put on a great show against Lesnar.

On the one hand Bryan’s words were very clearly designed to endorse Reigns. Bryan said he had the chance to win the Rumble, unlike last year, and he didn’t. He wasn’t being held down, he just didn’t deliver the win when it counted. But on the other hand that dig about Reigns getting help from The Rock wasn’t exactly subtle. Although the framing of him as currently being inferior to Bryan, Ziggler and Ambrose was. I expect in a few months times we’ll be able to look back and point to this interview as the first sign of a Reigns v Bryan rivalry.

The main event (I use that term loosely) saw Lesnar and Reigns sit down with Cole. Although that didn’t last. Heyman immediately interrupted to shake Reigns’ hand and congratulate him on his win. When Reigns said he wouldn’t mind Heyman asking the questions (actually, his exact response was “I’ve got nothing to hide”, which is neither a yes or a no) Heyman put on his journalist hat and replaced Michael Cole.

Heyman said that he’s known Reigns’s family longer than Reigns himself. He told stories about meeting various family members (again, consult Wikipedia) during his time working as a photographer, promoter and manager earlier in his career. He acknowledged that he’d first met Reigns when Reigns was a kid and said he’s proud of him and respects him. It was interesting stuff because it was so obviously real.

Wall-to-wall promos. It's what WWE's always wanted.

The Rock was the last name he mentioned. The Rock knows Brock Lesnar. In 2002 Rock was the champ, the top guy. He lost the title to Lesnar and never asked for rematch. One match with Lesnar was all ‘The Brahma Bull’ could handle. What was interesting in that was that Heyman drew parallels between Reigns and the young Lesnar: he said that Rock came up against a new guy, like Reigns is the new guy, and stated his belief that Reigns is ‘The Next Big Thing’. It was almost like Heyman was courting Reigns as a client or hinting that he’d be willing to double cross Lesnar if Reigns were willing to take him on as an agent.

Heyman said he gets it: Reigns is the one to beat the one in 21-1. He told Reigns he wouldn’t be able to beat Lesnar and asked him how he’d cope with disappointing his family like that.

Reigns squeaked his chair around to face the champion. He told Lesnar he knows who and what he is and what he’s signed up for, but he doesn’t think Lesnar knows what he’s in for. He said he’d beat him and take the championship and that they both knew it. Lesnar’s response was to shoot to his feet and offer a good, old fashioned test of strength handshake. At that point Lesnar told Reigns that he’s not like Heyman, he doesn’t respect him.

"But you will" was Reigns’ action movie response. A smirk from Reigns would have been better there. It would have seemed more confident, like he doesn’t need to try convincing Lesnar or anyone else.

Michael Cole described the Reigns-Lesnar confrontation as “powerful and emotional”, before he, Booker T and JBL started shilling the WrestleMania 31 main event. Naturally they all agreed it was going to be amazing.

And that was RAW. Considering the limitations they were under I think it was a great show. They got Reigns’ push on track, acknowledged the disappointment people feel at Daniel Bryan not losing, set some stuff up for Fast Lane, covered the Lesnar, Ambrose and Rollins characters, and started working on the main event for their biggest show of the year. In fact it as so smooth that I can’t help but think WWE would rather present shows like this than bother with arenas and all that bothersome non-pay-per-view wrestling.